RACE: Mid-Ohio Runoffs Monday notes #2

Runoffs Notes - 3
copyright 1996 John P. M. Dillon
Late night greetings from Monday at the Runoffs. I've just returned
from the dinner hosted by Richland County. Another wonderful evening
of friendship, live music, bench racing, and great...

Runoffs Notes - 3
copyright 1996 John P. M. Dillon

Late night greetings from Monday at the Runoffs. I've just returned
from the dinner hosted by Richland County. Another wonderful evening
of friendship, live music, bench racing, and great food and (I'm told)
spirits. It was a perfect venue for more interviews, especially since
I've committed to flagging tomorrow.

Les Handley, a Porsche 914 EP racer, is attending his 13th Runoffs.
When asked why, he retorted, "Insanity!" In a more serious vein, he
said "it's the only chance I get to see some old friends. Plus, it's
only an 8 hour tow from Pennsylvania, so it's a no-brainer."

John Snow, GP Fiat, had problems with his throttle, and seemed to get
only about 3/4 of the expected performance. After the session he
discovered a bent linkage and assures us that he'll run at 100%
tomorrow. He hopes, however, that it doesn't rain.

There is a slight chance of sprinkles, so Snowman's fears are well-
founded. Richard Crites, on the other hand, is anxious for rain--he
loves wet weather racing. Of course, at the moment he's still without
a car, since his Mazda MX6 is awaiting a new transmission. It should
show up by 10 AM tomorrow; they've got to be on course for their 16
minute session at 2 PM. Larry Cress and Sue Mashiko have joined
Crites as crew members.

Chris Funk and Neil Tilbor, both Spec Racer Ford drivers, agreed that
"we're here way to long for way too little track time." Their
complaint centers around the 16 minute sessions alloted to each group
in a day. In past years these sessions were 20 minutes, though
carnage often shortened the time somewhat. Said Tilbor, "It's
especially a problem for us Sunday guys. It seems like our class
always races on Sundays--besides, there's way too many classes." Funk
complimented the facility though: "This track and community are the
best. We'd just like to be here five days instead of eight."

Tilbor then turned his thoughts to a perennial complaint. "I wonder
if the domination of the locals will ever end. As far as Spec Racers
(both flavors) go, there will be three groups: the locals at the top,
then the pro racers, then all the others."

Both drivers praised recent efforts by Patc Henry and Lars at SCCA
Enterprises. "I hope it continues even though Lars is leaving the
operation." Funk then returned to the earlier topic of track time at
the Runoffs. "It's a nice event, but the June Sprints is five times
as nice; it's a nice facility, with nice racing, and a nice
presentation, and lots of track time." Tilbor followed up with
reasoning for the local advantage. "The track doesn't allow test days
before the regionals or nationals, except for the Runoffs. From a
business perspective, I can see their position--they want people to
sign up for their school. It makes it tough on us to learn the track
though."

Clay Silvestre listened quietly through all this, but when we finally
got to talking I learned he suffered a big wreck last Friday. "It was
my first ambulance ride." He said the throttle stuck wide open as he
went through Turn 6, thus smacking into the Turn 7 wall driver's right
("Rahal's corner"). The crash destroyed the car, but Ray LaRue's team
"did a good job of putting it back together." As in Morehouse's
situation described earlier, his compatriots pulled out the stops to
help him out. "Without the help of the other racers, we couldn't have
gotten the car together." His injuries include one sprained ankle, a
bruised ankle, and a bruised knee, so "I'm hobbling around a bit."
Silvestre, who's raced over 200 times in SR, claims to have more runs
in the class than anybody else. Tilbor suggested, however, than John
Bowden may have him beat.

At this point in the juncture, the band played the "Neons go rolling
along" song, with the audience chiming in. As unlikely as it seems,
the song brought up the age-old battle about the word "Mayday," since
CenDiv still uses it and (as far as we can tell) is not being pressed
to change it. In SoPac, we were forcefully told to remove it from our
vocabulary, and an ugly battle it was.

Jim Marinangel, who won the '93 Runoffs at Atlanta, didn't have much
to say about his early performance today. Instead, he mentioned
advice that Liz Patterson gave him the year he won. "Just take it
slow--some will not get to play." He added, "sure enough, several
didn't get to play."

Lee Fleming, SRF, is rumored to dislike this track, but has managed
nonetheless to be second fastest overall behind Warren Stilwell, who
loves this track. Tom Van Camp admitted to good test sessions last
week. He and John Hollansworth are working together, sharing setup
information along with garage space, so the "grudge match" story that
makes editors drool and readers buy just won't happen. Said Van Camp,
"We're looking at it as a team effort and working together."

San Diego Flag Chief Linda Haneline, attending the Runoffs for the
first (along with husband Bill) is having fun. They went to the Rock
'n' Roll Hall of Fame before the SCCA week started, but they're
enjoying the course too. "I love seeing lots of cars, though there
are not as many as I was expecting in some groups." She especially
enjoyed seeing all the old British cars. She commented on track
communications too. "I heard a lot of 'rather descriptive' calls on
the land line. We really appreciate our SoPac stewards and how they
trust us to do the right thing."

Runoffs Flag Chief Kathy Maleck declined to be interviewed at the
party, but when pressed, she admitted to having fun. She added "I've
got a wonderful crew of F&C people." Joanne Jensen, working with
Sandy Byrnes in Race Control, said "We started on time, and ended on
time, and I'm proud of everybody's work today." She credit the secret
of success to "a good crew and excellent corner working."

John Frank, an SR pilot, also preferred to be mostly silent, admitting
only "We didn't come to place or show." Tim Castellano started
spewing quotes from "Race Driver Interview School" like "Thank my crew
for doing a great job, etc, etc." but finally admitted "this track is
really tough. You really work hard to race here."

Well, I'm done for the evening. If I get lots of requests for results
(perhaps in abbreviated form) I'll post them, otherwise I'll just
coast along with what I'm doing now. (Well, it's hardly coasting!)
Tomorrow will be light on news since I'll be on course most likely,
but I'll pick up again on Wednesday. (I may flag on Thursday too,
since that's typically the day with the lightest turnout.)